Shroud in Entropy
by emeraldLINX
Summary: Hiatus: After escaping his heartless destiny at Hollow Bastion, Sora is facing relapses into darkness, threatening to consume his heart, his memories, his soul. And only one may be able to save him from the bottomless shadows...
1. Dark Mist

**A/N: **Well I've had this idea for a fanfiction for a very long time. So yeah, please read, and tell me if you want me to continue the story.

**Warning**: This fiction (if continued after this chapter) will contain shounen-ai. For those who don't know what that means…. There will be some Riku-Sora pairing fluff going on.

**Disclaimer**: If I owned Kingdom Hearts do you think I'd waste my time typing this? Honestly, I'd be hugging Sora right now if I owned him. Of course, by all rights, he SHOULD be mine….

* * *

Chapter 1: Dark Mist

Faint mist lingered across the planes with a resemblance of a blanket, torn to pieces by the cold merciless feeling of the air. It possessed an ethereal glow, frightening those weak at heart.

A smile appeared on the hooded man's face upon considering the weak of heart. For that now constituted the world in its entirety. After all his travels, he was reassured of the darkness lurking in ever corner, every building, and especially in every heart. No one could escape such a fate, even himself. Perhaps long ago he remembered thinking otherwise, but now, the hooded figure understood the fear and darkness spreading across the town in a tangible mist.

Walking forward, straight through the fog now threatening his courage, he approached a seemingly harmless bar. Before entering, he cautiously turned around, judging whether or not a creature was following him. On too many occasions, trouble searched and found him with dark results, and now the man was all too careful in dark alleyways.

Rubbing his left shoulder with slight annoyance, he advanced through the crowd of weak-hearted men, all of whom looked tough despite the hidden fear emblazoned in their eyes.

"Bartender," said a young voice, surprising the man as he realized this voice came from the ominous looking person in the hooded cloak. The cloaked figure continued to sit down and placed his elbow on the bar for balance, "Give me the cheapest, strongest thing you got."

The bartender, now cleaning a glass with a dirty towel, inspected the stranger from head to toe. He appeared overly suspicious, and at long last the bartender sighed, "Not unless you take that hood off and show some cash. I don't normally ask for my customers to do so, but in your case…. I'm going to have to make an exception."

A loud sigh could be heard escaping from the cloak, as the person from beneath it placed his hand on his forehead and slowly pulled back, allowing the hood to fall off nonchalantly.

"The weak at heart always fail to trust," sighed the voice again, which now appeared to belong to a young boy. Ignoring the surprised countenance of the bartender, the stranger continued to rub his left shoulder painfully. "Cheapest but strongest thing you got, please."

"Whoa, kid. Are you even eighteen?" The man asked, leaning forward and gazing deep into his cold eyes.

"What does it matter to you? You're still going to get paid," he replied, not particularly wanting to answer the question. Only the customer's order should be of any importance, not shallow numbers. The boy groaned with slight pain in his chest. "Well?"

Looking slightly nervous, the bartender nodded, and left to fetch the 'cheapest and strongest' drink he possessed. He gazed over his shoulder to see the stress forming on the brunette's forehead. "So kid, something bothering ya?"

Raising an eyebrow, the boy merely gazed through him, not adding to the conversation. Several moments passed until he gave in, deciding to continue the dialogue before the bartender might change his mind about his beverage. "Life's not how I use to look at it."

A weak smile crossed his lips as the bartender passed the large mug. "Half off, simply because you look like you need it."

"Maybe so," he added, attempting to gulp down the rancid drink, "But I'm not a fool."

The bartender was beginning to like this stranger. Despite his harsh and less-than-optimistic comments, the boy certainly had experiences and wisdom beyond his youth. The man had seen many drunks and wise men in his day, but this child did not share their superiority complex, famed to follow those with knowledge.

"And how so?"

The boy smiled briefly, but quickly halted, clutching his left shoulder with reawakened pain. Snapping his eyes shut, he shuddered and clenched his teeth. Panting he managed to regain his composure and replied, "There are too many reminders in this world of reality to possibly get lost in fantasy. Those who fail to see them… are weak fools."

Frowning, the bartender dropped their conversation, "Are you all right?"

"Fine," he replied harshly, and took out several coins from his pocket. "This should cover it."

"Wait a second; don't leave. Not in your condition…"

"I'm fine," the stranger repeated, retreating to the exit. The last problem he wanted was for this man to interrogate him. Before the brunette realized it, he was outside in the fog and darkness, trudging forward blindly.

All alone, he placed the hood over him and continued to drag his feet. Not knowing where he was headed, the boy refused to care and desperately disregarded the shadows around him. After all this time, he truly had changed. The fatigue in his joints merely added to his pessimism. Again clutching his chest, he slowly wondered where his friends were and how he was separated from them.

In truth, it mattered not now, for with or without their presence, the boy doubted the pain surging within him would vanish. Somehow, he knew it never could. All these years, and it still failed to dissipate. How would now be any different for him?

The pain in his heart was spreading, growing. "Not again," he whimpered, almost tripping over his feet. He leaned against a brick wall for support, wishing the throbbing sting would evaporate. Closing his eyes, he could see the darkness smothering him, suffocating him, trying to trap him in fear.

Panting breathlessly, he clutched his heart tighter, but it failed to stop his visions of ever-growing darkness. Everything was fading except a pair of yellow empty eyes. He knew them all too well. Not just in his dreams but everywhere. The heartless eyes stalked him at every turn.

And despite all his efforts, the only thing in his battle that was waning in strength was himself. His memories, his personality, every aspect of himself were fading, and without the aide of his friends, Sora collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.


	2. Lost

A/N: Hey, hey everyone. Not much to say, except thanks for the reviews (now that I figured out exactly what direction I'm taking this story, I'm going to continue it). And I hope the beginning isn't too confusing since I had to stick only to pronouns (you guys will get what I mean -wink-)

Oh, and this chapter is dedicated to Ethereal Shadow for playing the scene(s) I needed in Kingdom Hearts, and then sending the dialogue to me. Thankies!

* * *

Chapter 2: Lost

"Quit while you can," cried out a masked voice through the everlasting darkness. It was low, assured, but unknown. A shadow among shadows, vanishing like a whisper in the wind, almost as quickly as it made itself known.

"No," replied a different, yet equally confusing echo.

"The darkness will destroy you."

"You're wrong," it replied. The argument between two phantoms, elusive as they were, echoed and echoed upon deaf ears. Yet somehow, the quarrel continued, desperately trying to find a listener, and refusing to fail. "The darkness may destroy my body, but it can't touch my heart… it'll never die!"

"Really… How will you fight without a weapon?"

"I don't need the keyblade. I've got a better weapon. My heart," answered the voice with overwhelming conviction, emphasizing its importance, and with luck, the response finally found one to awaken.

He woke, slowly gaining consciousness, but to his dismay found nothing remotely comforting short of the continuation of a familiar fight.

"Your heart? What good will that weak little thing do for you?"

Bleak and thick as the suffocating shadows were, he failed to find the strength to disagree with the voice and side with the other, more righteous, echo. In fact, he failed to find any strength within himself at all, to even shout out and acknowledge his own existence. Though, the purpose for attempting such a gesture past his mind entirely, as he allowed the emptiness to surround him.

"Riku!" the persistent echo continued. He searched and searched but did not understand where the source was coming from, or precisely what the outburst meant. It sounded alien to him, in another language or in a cryptic message only one with endurance could unravel. But as he stumbled, mentally attempting to reach anything familiar and shed light upon the darkness, his absent wish was granted.

A vision appeared before him of several bodies belonging to whom, he did not know. Their faces cast in shadow, contrary to the glowing hearts shining through them.

"Sora! Sora, look!"

"The… the keyhole!" The other continued, looking back, and despite it being expressionless, he felt the creature's eyes piercing him with concern. Before he could rationalize the meaning behind it, another figure walked passed him. The heart locked within its shadowed body shone most radiantly, as it walked forward holding a sword with an even greater blinding light. "It won't work! The keyhole's not finished yet!"

"What can we do?"

"Maybe we've gotta go wake Kairi up." Still, another cryptic message, he reminded himself, gazing from one creature to the next, finding one more than he previously counted. It, however, was not shining, dark and lying on the floor, only visible from the reflected light of others.

"I think you're right. If we can free her heart …But…But how?" The brightest responded, catching all of his attention. This voice, this one, appeared overwhelmingly recognizable, as the creature to which it belonged held up its glowing sword. "A keyblade that unlocks people's hearts… I wonder…"

Suddenly pain shot through him. This he remembered. Vaguely on the edge of his mind, trying desperately to surface.

"Sora?" The emptiness surrounding him seemed to grow more powerful suddenly, as the creature knelt down, slowly elevating a different blade, which, if possible, shed a light of darkness blacker than the shadows surrounding it. "Sora, hold on!"

"No, wait!" But, the creature did not wait, much to his dismay, as it pierced itself with the evil creation gripped in its hand. He, too, suddenly felt pain in his chest, as the light from the creature spewed out from it, in search of another home. "Sora! Sora!"

But the pain… the insurmountable pain eating away at him clouded his vision, leaving only the desperate voices to comfort his loneliness. "Sora!"

"SORA! Come back, Sora!"

….Sora? What did that mean, he wondered as he fell, the pain replaced by an equally dreadful void. So distant and yet unmistakably important. But what was this 'Sora'?

"What's happening to me? Falling… falling… into darkness…"

"Sora, are you really—No, he can't be. I won't let him go!"

"Don't bother. Your voice can no longer reach him where he is. His heart belongs to darkness. Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came," interrupted another voice, erasing his memory of the previous one. "Every light must fade, every heart return to darkness! Look as hard as you are able. You'll not find even the smallest glimmer of light. From those dark depths are all hearts born."

Above all others, this one appeared most assured, most convincing. He found himself depending on it, longing for guidance but to what, he was not certain.

"Giving up already? Come on, Sora. I though you were stronger than that."

-----

The soreness in his bones throbbed with each heartbeat while he twitched his eyes open. He remained inert, waiting for the clouds surrounding his sight to clear but mostly to avoid possible pain. Slowly forming shapes before him, his eyes wandered from the cobblestone before him to his still hand. Exhaling, he twitched his fingers, testing to see if there resided any feeling deep within them.

Much to his relief, there was, and he grudgingly pulled his hand out of sight and used it as leverage, lifting him above the muddy floor. He grimaced, realizing dank water restes on his innocent cheek. "Great, Sora," he murmured to himself.

Suddenly realizing what he had said, he thought over the word again. Sora. Of course. His name was Sora. Lifting himself to his feet, he tried, with great difficulty, to remember anything beyond his name. His age, his home, his friends… all a mystery and yet at the tip of his tongue. Even his last name for that matter. The more he tried to dig for it deep in the depths of his mind, the more Sora doubted his ability to find it.

Sighing, he reached for his hood, but stopped short of pulling it onto his head. Even the meaning behind veiling his visage from onlookers escaped his reasoning. The lack of understanding any purpose ate away at him, and soon Sora felt unutterably empty.

He walked forward not knowing his destination nor particularly caring. "Sora," he whispered, trying to make the word tangible, forcing himself to remember it without fail like shoving unwanted food down his throat. No matter how often darkness consumed him, Sora refused to lose all of himself to it. If his name remained known, then perhaps he could succeed in such a feat.

"Sora," declared a deep voice with vigor beyond any strength Sora, himself, could uncover. He, indifferent yet somehow curious, pivoted to face the break of silence in the alleyway he now stood in.

"Who are you?" Sora asked, so fatigued he doubted anyone heard the response. The pain in his chest began to rise, and he urgently struggled to suppress it with his hand, lest the stranger in his midst sense such weakness.

"…Sora," it replied with disappointment, stepping out of the shadows. Though even with the light, it did little to show his identity, for a gray hood cloaked him with darkness. "You don't remember me?"

Uneasily, he approached the man, anger welling in his throat. "How can I, if I can't even see your face?"

"True," he tilted his head, agreeing to Sora's confusion and then lifted the hood dreadfully slowly, hoping to tease the boy further. "Do you recognize me now?" However, he frowned upon seeing the lack of wonderment in his friend's eyes. "You… really can't remember?"

The brunette furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, trying to inspect this new man from every angle of his face. Though Sora could not deny how remarkably handsome and striking he was, Sora merely shook his head. He allowed his eyes to observe him further, desperately wanting to remember this face from somewhere. From his silver hair to his ears to his nose and then… to his eyes. Such incredible sea green eyes. Sora discovered himself lost, hypnotized by them, but unlike the darkness that he was often unwillingly lost in, Sora felt safe, untouchable even.

"Sora?" The man whispered, raising an eyebrow and wondering precisely why the boy was gawking at him like a little school girl. "You okay?"

"Who…are you?"

"Riku; it's Riku. Why can't you--?"

"Riku," he echoed breaking from his concentration, or lack thereof. That too, much like his own name, seemed covered and hidden. But as he played the name over and over again incessantly in his mind, a sharp pain came forth in his chest. He winced, slouching forward but was stopped short from falling as Riku caught him.

"You ok? Psh… of course not."

His vision was swimming, but he refused to let go of the name. Something… something dark was manifested in his chest and did not want Sora to remember it. But he would not falter and continued to shout it, trying to intimidate and make the darkness vanish.

"…Sora? Sora!"

It faltered, retreating, temporarily defeated by Sora's refusal to lose sight of Riku's blessed eyes. And then, his memories of Riku returned with lightning speed, threatening to overwhelm him. A smile crept across his face, looking over each moment with suppressed excitement and relief. Sora, exhausted, closed his eyes, and unwittingly began the first real sleep he had encountered in years.

Noticing his found friend grow limp, Riku contorted his face, bewildered and confused. He gazed down but then smiled to see Sora resting in his arms. "Always were adorable," he sighed.


	3. Surprise

A/N: Hey everyone! Just so you all know, in a few weeks I'll be changing my screen name from emeraldLINX to RubyHawk. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up so that when I do, no one will think I'm copying my own story. That'd just be weird.

Oh, and this chapter will be interesting…

* * *

Chapter 3: Surprise

Riku smiled at the young waitress running to and fro for his sake. Not that the boy was feeling particularly sadistic, but her attraction towards him and her desperate need to please Riku was bright as day. She appeared to be in her early twenties, her hair pinned back and yet it still was a mess, as the blonde (in a tight-fitting apron) frantically searched for her customer's order.

"… You need help with that?" he suppressed a grin, as she nearly tripped at the sound of his voice.

"No, no! I've got it. An omelet with onions and cheese, some toast, strawberries, two muffins, um… oh, the oatmeal, the waffles… and then a glass of orange juice," she panted, placing each ceremoniously on a silver tray. "You sure you can eat all this? Seems to be a little over the top."

"It's not for me," he replied instinctively, but then wished he hadn't said anything as he saw the waitress' energy drop and radiant smile vanish. "A friend." Her face remained still. "He's a guy."

"Oh!" she laughed, returning to her overly exuberant personality. "Well," the woman began, leaning towards him, "he must be pretty good looking to be in the same motel room as you."

"You bet; I picked him out myself," he answered, winking at her.

The waitress, to the contrary of Riku, shrunk at the comment. He grinned, wondering the possible thoughts that could be running rampant in her mind. As amusing as it was to confuse the young woman, he decided enough was enough, rising to his feet and then hoisting up his tray with relative ease. Nonchalantly, he tossed a diamond into her hand as payment and while walking away, he laughed over his shoulder, "I should get going. He doesn't like to be in bed all alone…"

Blankly staring back at him, the waitress stood dumbfounded at his remarks, but as he gracefully sauntered out of the restaurant, she was too dazzled by him to understand his hints and was greatly disappointed at herself for forgetting to request his phone number.

* * *

After juggling with his key underneath the tray, Riku miraculously managed to open the wooden door once impeding his path. He gazed in, seeing that Sora remained fast asleep, and then placed his lukewarm food on top of a nearby table.

Sighing, the silver-haired boy wandered around the room impatiently. If Sora didn't wake up soon, his breakfast would become cold, and his journey to the restaurant would have been a complete waste of his time.

He searched his pants pocket until extracting a single jewel, resting between his fingers. His last one. Riku gazed through it, trying to distract himself from his unconscious friend nearby. He had to be careful not to spend the diamond later unless absolutely imperative. Frowning, he doubted buying such a lavish breakfast was one of his brighter ideas. Especially since his benevolence would not be rewarded or acknowledged unless Sora woke up in time to eat it. Considering the loss of his money made Riku twitch with frustration.

After all his seemingly endless searching, he found his friend only to meet him fatigued and suffering from amnesia. But Riku's luck did not stop there. Then he had to go and spend half of his money on breakfast to cheer up said friend, who ironically was asleep and had been for nearly two days now. Oh yeah, what a great reunion, he thought bitterly.

Having half the mind to shake Sora until he awoke, (so that he could appreciate Riku's selflessness) he scrunched up his face at the sleeping beauty. "Go on, sleep," he muttered, but as the boy looked at Sora, he failed to suppress a smile. Who could willingly wake up someone who was _that_ cute?

He snatched some toast from the tray and pulled up a chair beside the bed. Sitting on it, Riku chewed the overly toasted roll, resting his chin on the head of the chair. Distressed to see Sora so fatigued, he closed his eyes for a fraction of the relaxation he deserved. Wondering who or what could put his friend in such a condition, however, did not help Riku unwind. Instead it made his thoughts go in circles.

Before he could begin blaming himself for not finding Sora sooner or wish he could aide in some way, Riku heard moaning from alongside him. His eyes flew open to see the brunette attempting to stretch his obviously sore and stiff muscles.

Sora's gorgeous blue eyes wandered around the room in a daze. He rubbed his head, attempting to sit up. Several moments passed before the boy even realized the existence of another person in the same room. Their eyes locked, the silence between them remaining constant. Riku could not help but notice the exhaustion covering his face and wanted to say something, anything, to brighten Sora's visage.

With the only words that came to him, Riku smiled with his dazzling sea green irises, "Hey you."

Startled at the sound in the room, Sora forced a smile in return, whispering with a raspy voice, "Hi." The brunette rubbed his eyes and then gazed again at Riku's face, apparently fixed on his eyes, with a look of disbelief.

"What?"

"Your eyes…"

"Eh?"

"N-nothing, Riku," he replied almost instantly, twiddling his thumbs and looking at the red sheets resting on him. He never remembered falling asleep in a bed. Though, as Sora concentrated harder, he only recalled the darkness and fear smothering him, as it always did. "Where are we?"

"Motel room. You passed out after--- hey wait a second. You called me Riku… so you remember now?"

"Yeah, of course I remember you," he laughed uneasily. "How could I forget a face like that?"

"Heh, I bet the waitress is thinking the same thing."

"Say what?"

"Nothing," Riku grinned to himself, especially after seeing Sora's confused expression. Before Sora had a chance to respond, the silver-haired boy snatched the tray from behind him and placed it on top of the blankets. "Look, you better eat all of this."

Never straying his eyes from Riku's, Sora absent-mindedly nodded and grabbed the closest item: a muffin. "Thanks Riku," he replied, trying to please him, despite its hardened texture. "It's…kind of cold."

Frowning, Riku looked away, "It wouldn't be if you woke up earlier." Hearing stifled laughter, he turned his head back to the brunette. "What?"

Rubbing his shoulder, the boy sat up and after several moments of silence, he responded, "nothing, nothing at all."

"Oh really," Riku snickered, crossing his arms.

"Yes really."

"Ok…." He paused, seizing a muffin from the tray (despite signs from Sora, saying "hey that's my food"), and then continued, "So, what else do you remember? You had some serious amnesia or something. Did you get into a battle and lose?"

"Yup," The brunette grinned, lying. For some unexplainable reason, Sora desperately wanted to please his friend, and confessing that he suffered from faint spells and sharp pain, failing to remember anything before it was the last thing he wanted to tell Riku. "I think I remember everything now. But some things are kind of sketchy. Well, a lot of things actually. I mean, I remember you and tons of other memories with you in it. But that's basically it."

"You… don't remember about the keyblade and kingdom hearts and the heartless…and all that other stuff?"

"Key…Blade? It sounds familiar… I think."

Riku failed to believe this, merely gaping at the boy. "How exactly did this happen? Who did this to you?"

"I don't know," he trailed off, attempting to retrace his steps. His chest was irritating him, making it difficult for him to concentrate. "Can we just change the subject?"

Looking at Sora, Riku frowned. The brunette was lying. He did not doubt Sora was fatigued or couldn't recall some of his memories, but his smiles were false. Sora was hiding something from him, and disappointed at his friend's lack of trust, Riku sighed.

"Sure, whatever. I can't afford this hotel for another day anyway, so you better get out of bed. Oh, and take a shower. When was the last time you took one? Or do you not remember that either?"

"Ha. Ha, very funny." Tossing the blankets to the side, he looked at himself from head to toe with surprise. "Did you… put me in pajamas last night?"

"Had to clean your frikkin' clothes anyway. You'd prefer to be in underwear?"

"What are you, my nurse?" Sora, done with the conversation, walked away from the bed, stopping shortly after. "Um… What's a shower again? And where is it?"

Riku merely stared at Sora for several moments. Silence separated them for quite a while, until the silver-haired boy laughed slightly, "You're joking…. Right?" He gazed deep into those innocent blue eyes and twitched slightly, barely containing his embarrassment.

"There's NO way I'm teaching you how to take a shower," he sighed with annoyance, shoving the naïve boy into the bathroom. "Figure it out yourself."

"B-but…"

"Don't be such a baby," he interrupted.

* * *

The bathroom was in good condition considering it lay inside a cheap motel room. Riku glanced across the white tiles, shower and its curtain, and finally, pearly white sink. It made him squint from the light, and his eyes were relieved as Riku shut the door in front of him before Sora could escape.

"Now I better hear that water! No WAY am I going in there!" He yelled, clutching the doorknob with both hands. Banging could be heard from the other side.

"Let me out or I swear I'll…"

"Just take the damn shower."

"I can't even remember what one is."

"Which explains why you desperately need it. It's a way to bathe. You know, hygiene?" The banging of the door finally stopped, and Riku smiled, releasing the knob.

"Umm…"

"You can figure it out," he sighed in unexplainable relief, returning to his chair next to Sora's bed. Riku rubbed his eyes and grimaced at the mere thought of teaching his friend how to take a shower.

This was not how he last left Sora. The brunette had genuinely smiled, generally understood what he was doing, and had an air of innocence. The latter remained constant, but time seemed to have twisted his friend. Into what, he was not sure.

His eyes traveled across the room, falling onto his cloak, now resting on a hook. Sighing, he approached it, slung it over his shoulder, and revealed Sora's keyblade.

The keyblade…

Concern flared within him since the legendary sword had first appeared in his arms several months ago. He feared disaster had befallen Sora to the point that the keyblade was forced to find a new master.

Perhaps his fears were not far from the truth.

A shriek of pain emerged from the wall next to him, catching Riku by surprise. "Sora?"

The brunette rushed out the door and into the main room. "You trying to kill me?"

"What?" Truly confused, Riku rushed beside him (but not before hiding the keyblade). However, Sora, slightly wet and still fully clothed, did not answer. "You big baby; get in there."

"But---"

"Oh come on!" The silver-haired boy shoved Sora (yet again) into the bathroom. "You're just lucky you need a shower so badly. Now listen closely, you take off your clothes and get into the bathtub. This knob is for hot water and this one is for cold. When the water comes out of the showerhead, you wash your hair and…uhg, I can't believe I'm explaining this to you! What am I? Your nurse!"

He turned his head expecting a response to see Sora dropping his shirt on the floor.

"Don't strip now, you mor—," Riku muttered but halted, gawking at Sora's chest. Above his heart was black. Almost like dark ooze, it was pulsing, encompassing his shoulder and half of his torso. Its darkness made Sora appear pale white by comparison, as it drained its host of all his strength. Riku could only stare in wonderment at the boy now hunched over, almost oblivious to the shadows crawling all over him. "What happened to you?"

"It wasn't this big before…" Sora panted, with glassy eyes.

"You mean you knew about this…this thing growing on you? It… it looks like the same kind of junk the heartless are made of. Why didn't you tell me about this right away?" He shrieked, pushing the brunette into the bathtub. "We got to get it off you! Wash it off or _something!_"

"Wash… it off?"

"I dunno, just get rid of it!" He added, pulling the bathtub curtain between them. "And take off your pants."

"Um…."

"I'm not looking! As if I even WANTED to," he moaned, still shaking upon seeing Sora disfigured. A pair of pants came flying from over the curtain and onto his face as he heard the sound of water and a cry along with it.

"Ah it's HOT!" Sora shrilly called out, nearly jumping out of the tub, but before he could escape past the curtain, Riku grabbed his shoulders.

"I don't want to see you naked so you better STAY in there..."

"But the water hurts," he whined. "Make it stop."

"That's good… I think. It means that thing on your chest doesn't like it."

"I don't like it either!"

"Stop being such a baby. And to think I gave up teasing that waitress for this," he muttered under his breath, guarding the curtain, but his annoyance quickly evaporated, as he listened to Sora's anguished cries. "There's no way it hurts that much, stop your crying. Um …Sora?"

He sighed, blindly reaching his hand on the shower knob and halted the water. Grabbing the closest towel, he shoved it past the curtain and into Sora. "Put this on already."

The exhausted brunette emerged from the tub, looking completely disheveled. His body was about to collapse, but his eyes were furious. "If I wasn't in so much pain, I'd kill you for that."

"Sure you would," Riku smiled briefly, but soon frowned. "It's still there." Tripping out of the bathtub, Sora nearly landed on Riku before another towel caught him instead. "I ain't holding you this time."

Ignoring him, the brunette gasped for air. "My chest…"

"Don't faint on me again."

"It won't stop hurting."

"Sora? You better not faint, or else…"

"I won't," he coughed, gradually collecting all his strength to stand up, accidentally leaning to far backwards. Riku quickly grabbed his shoulder to prevent his fall, but retracted it in pain. As Sora tripped, the white-haired boy's hand twitched painfully.

"Woah…" Riku looked at the absent expression in his friend's face. Perhaps his fears concerning Sora were far tamer than the actual situation should have created.

"I'm not gonna faint," the brunette panted, clutching his heart.

"Actually, I wouldn't hold it against you if you did."


End file.
